In a principal aspect the present invention relates to a device termed a strut, connector, tie, bracket member or bracket, and which is used in combination with spaced, insulating foam, form panels, to thereby provide a mold or form for concrete and cement wall construction. In particular, the bracket is associated with formation of insulating foam, corner forms.
The use of modular insulating foam forms for concrete or cement wall construction is disclosed in various prior art patents and use of such forms is commonly practiced in the construction industry. Among the prior art patents depicting such forms and their use are the following:
U.S. Pat. No.PatenteeDate of PatentTitle4,884,382HorobinDec. 5, 1989Modular Building-BlockForm5,060,446BeliveauOct. 29, 1991Insulating Wall Panel5,390,459MensenFeb. 21, 1995Concrete Form Walls5,896,714CymbalaApr. 27, 1999Insulating Concreteet al.Form System6,230,462BeliveauMay 15, 2001Concrete Wall Form andConnectors Therefor6,820,384 B1PfeifferNov. 23, 2004Prefabricated Foam BlockConcrete Forms and TiesMolded Therein
Modular foam forms generally comprise first and second, parallel, spaced, modular sized, plastic foam or polystyrene foam wall panels. The spaced foam wall panels are connected by cross members termed brackets. Brackets are typically made from molded, rigid plastic materials. The brackets are often referred to as struts, ties or connectors. The foamed wall panel forms are made in modular sizes and assembled in building block fashion to define a form for a building or foundation wall. Reinforcing bars (rebars) are typically placed on the ties or brackets that connect or join the foam panels defining the concrete form so that when concrete or cement is poured into the space between the foam panels, the rebars will effectively reinforce the wall. Various designs of the panels and the connectors or brackets which join or tie the panels together are depicted in the prior art. The design of panels and the design of the brackets or connectors or ties is highly varied.
A particularly challenging design problem associated with foam panel forms is related to the corners of such forms. Appropriately positioning of foam material in combination with ties or brackets in a manner which enables and facilitates the construction of the corners of a building wall is particularly vexing. Prior art patents suggest various corner wall form constructions including the following:
U.S. Pat. No.PatenteeDate of PatentTitle4,765,109BoeshartAug. 23, 1988Adjustable Tie4,916,879BoeshartApr. 17, 1990Corner Tie5,658,483BoeshartAug. 19, 1997Corner Joint Tie5,782,050BoeshartJul. 21, 1998Two-Piece Corner Tie6,224,031KohrsMay 1, 2001Intervertebral Implantwith Reduced ContactArea and Method6,293,067MeenderingSep. 25, 2001Tie for Forms for PouredConcrete6,352,237CizekMar. 5, 2002Combination BottleHook and Wrench6,691,481SchmidtFeb. 17, 2004Corner Form for ModularInsulating Concrete FormSystem
The present invention is directed to improved designs of molded plastic brackets, ties or connectors which are especially useful in combination with spaced foam panels to define corner forms.